A new display design with almost no bezel may be applied to an iPhone Pro model to be released next year. Attention is focused on whether the front design will undergo a major change to mark the iPhone’s 20th anniversary.

According to IT outlet 9to5Mac on Sept. 23 local time, Apple is still pushing a plan to apply a four-sided bending display to the next iPhone Pro, in a form that wraps all four sides of the smartphone.

A four-sided bending display is a technology that bends the screen to the four edges of a smartphone, sharply reducing the border visible from the front. This could enable an "almost bezel-free" design in which the screen fills more of the front of the device than existing iPhones.

The report is drawing attention because next year’s iPhone Pro is a landmark model marking the 20th anniversary of the iPhone’s launch. As speculation has continued that Apple is preparing design changes for a 20th anniversary iPhone, the report said the four-sided bending display, cited as a key change, remains part of the development direction.

Some have raised the possibility that the related technology may not be applied to an actual product, but the report said Apple is expected to move toward adopting a four-sided bending display.

It also appears Apple will not apply all display technologies it initially reviewed to the next iPhone Pro. Apple is said to have ultimately excluded some technologies that could make the panel thinner or improve power efficiency.

Component cost burdens are cited as a backdrop. In particular, as rising memory prices have increased pressure on smartphone manufacturing costs, Apple is said to have reviewed the introduction of some technologies again. Instead, Apple is said to be seeking a better alternative than the currently applied COE and LTPO+ technologies.

That makes it more likely that the key change in next year’s iPhone Pro will focus on the front design itself rather than internal panel technology. The approach is to maximise visual change by reducing bezels at the edge of the screen rather than making the panel thinner.

Given the symbolism of a 20th anniversary model, a clearly different exterior from the previous model could become a main feature of the next iPhone Pro. Apple has not officially disclosed the product design or detailed specifications, and technologies and component configurations could change before release.

Attention is focused on whether the most noticeable change in next year’s iPhone Pro will be a wider screen and an almost disappearing bezel. Apple’s design changes through a 20th anniversary iPhone are also being watched.